What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social image sharing site. Distinctly different from any other image sharing sites, Pinterest collates images in an effective way into genres that are easily viewed, shared and commented on.

Pinterest’s slogan is “share and organise beautiful things on the web”, with users able to create their own pin boards around a particular topic of interest. You are then able to re-pin images already on site or upload your own photos to the board in order to develop a collage of images that showcase your interests.

Pinterest has shot to fame quicker than both Facebook and YouTube

Pinterest was an instant sensation, picking up 10,000 users just 9 months after its launch date. To put this in perspective, Facebook took 16 months to reach the same mark. YouTube took a year.

The site now has around 11.7 million unique visitors per week, with over 17.5 million users being clocked up during March 2012.

It’s a colossal rise to fame that doesn’t look like slowing anytime soon.

What type of people use Pinterest?

Users are largely women with an interest in DIY sectors. According to an independent study, the most popular categories to pin under are Home, Arts & Crafts and Style/Fashion, with these sectors accounting for round 60% of Pinterest’s total pin boards. According to the study, food is the fastest growing sector – little wonder when we see the amount of food pictures featured on other social networking websites.

Most people source their images from websites like esty.com, flickr.com, tumblr.com and of course Google.

How can Pinterest improve my business?

Referral traffic from Pinterest has proved to be very rewarding for businesses. It currently sits in the top 5 social networking sites for referral traffic, outdoing the much touted Google+.

It’s a great place for business to promote new products and services, with many users utilising the site to preview products before buying them online or in-store. Pin boards showcasing products tend to generate the most ‘likes’ from other users, something which is great news for marketers.

Major companies like Gillete, Ikea, Coca-Cola and McDonalds all utilise Pinterest to showcase their products and generate referral traffic.

One of the biggest beneficiaries from Pinterest traffic are women’s magazines. Companies like Martha Stewart, Country Living and Vogue are all on board the Pinterest revolution, with Martha Stewart getting more traffic from Pinterest than both Facebook & Twitter combined.

The fact that these magazines are able to cater for Pinterest’s most popular categories – that being DIY, Home, Arts & Crafts and Fashion – allows them to take advantage of a captive audience already present on the site. As Pinterest grows, more topics will become available for businesses to target, making it a smart move to start pinning now and beat the rush.

The 5 steps required to start enjoying Pintererst referral traffic

If you’re a business that relies heavily on imagery, Pinterest is a great option for you. We’re talking wedding photographers, florists, web design, restaurants and hotels. Getting on the site and creating your own pin board is quick and easy:

1. Request an invitation to the site – it’s pretty quick and as far as we know, no one gets denied

2. Sign up using your Facebook or Twitter, or just create a log-in from scratch